The present application relates to a binding strap for use in a soft boot snowboard binding.
In the sport of snowboarding, bindings are utilized to secure a rider""s boot, and hence foot, to the snowboard. A plate binding having adjustable bails is used with a hard shell by snowboard riders whose style is adapted to xe2x80x9ccarvingxe2x80x9d or higher speed riding which requires fluid movement from edge-to-edge, thereby xe2x80x9ccarvingxe2x80x9d deep into the snow. A soft boot binding includes two, or three straps for securing a soft snowboard boot favored by snowboard riders who xe2x80x9cfreeridexe2x80x9d or perform xe2x80x9cfreestylexe2x80x9d (trick-oriented) snowboarding. Regardless of the snowboarding styles, there are three basic requirements snowboard riders look for in their binding: performance, comfort and convenience. A binding system should securely attach the boot of the rider to the board, allow the rider to comfortably maneuver the board by weight shifts, twisting and turning of the lower and upper body, and be easy to secure and adjust especially when inserting and releasing the rider""s boot.
Conventional soft boot bindings come in either a two or three strap arrangement comprising an ankle strap, a toe strap and, in the three strap arrangement, a shin strap. The ankle strap may include an oblong strap member which has a first end with a number of holes to adjustably attach the strap to the sidewall of the baseplate by a nut and bolt combination which is received through the appropriate hole adjacent the instep of the boot. The second end of the ankle strap typically includes a ratchet buckle, such as the Slap Ratchet(trademark) buckle available from Burton Snowboards of Burlington Vt., which matingly engages a toothed or serrated strap mounted to the sidewall of the baseplate adjacent the outer side of the boot. The Slap Ratchet buckle and serrated strap allow for incremental adjustment once the ankle strap is secured around the boot. Likewise, the toe strap also typically includes an oblong strap member which has a first end with a number of holes to adjustably attach the strap to the sidewall of the baseplate by a nut and bolt combination which is received through the appropriate hole adjacent the xe2x80x9cbigxe2x80x9d toe of the rider. The second end of the toe strap also typically includes a clip, such as a Leverage Toe Clip(trademark) available from Burton Snowboards, which mates with a serrated strap mounted to the sidewall of the baseplate adjacent the xe2x80x9clittlexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cpinkiexe2x80x9d toe of the foot for incremental adjustment of the toe strap. The shin strap, when utilized, is typically mounted at a first end to the high-back portion of the binding by a fastener, such as a nut and bolt combination, and includes a ratchet buckle which matingly engages a toothed or serrated strap mounted to the sidewall high-back, adjacent the outer shin. Such soft boot bindings are available from Burton Snowboards, of Burlington, Vt., and include for example, the X2, Custom Freestyle, Freestyle, Freestyle XS, System, Lo-Back and Contact models.
A second type of soft boot binding, available from Flow, is a rear entry, one piece binding strap. The binding utilizes a single, symmetrical strap which encloses substantially the entire top region of the foot between the toe and the ankle area and is typically utilized with a high-back binding system. The one piece strap is attached at the toe and ankle area by a pair of ratchet buckles, each buckle being matingly engaged to a serrated strap.
While prior art soft boot bindings have proven to be effective, there is continued development in the field to provide a varied assortment of bindings which provide the rider with performance, comfort and convenience. The binding described in the present application is directed to one such binding offering performance, comfort and convenience to the rider.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a binding strap for use in a soft boot snowboard binding, the binding strap includes a flexible, unitary binding member having an ankle section connected to a toe section by a midsection. The binding strap is configured and dimensioned to preferably provide a rider with easy entry and exit from the strap. In addition, the shape and flexible nature of the binding makes it comfortable to use, while also allowing it to perform well by securely engaging the rider""s boot to the snowboard. The unitary construction allows the binding strap to move in an integrated manner, while the surface area of the binding strap reduces pressure points by distributing pressure exerted by the binding over a relatively large surface area of the boot, and hence foot, of the rider.
In one embodiment the unitary binding member may be asymmetrical in construction and may further include an inwardly sloping outer edge from the ankle section towards the toe section. The unitary binding member may also include an inner edge defining a variable medial opening for moving the ankle section and toe section relative to each other.
In another embodiment the midsection may have a reduced width relative to the ankle section and toe section, and the binding strap may have a contoured shape in an unstressed configuration.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a binding member for use in a soft boot snowboard binding which is comfortable to use while performing well for a variety of riders.
It is another object of the invention to provide a unitary binding member which provides a rider with ease of entry and exit of the rider""s boot from engagement with the binding strap.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a binding member which distributes pressure exerted by the binding member over the surface area of the boot to reduce the number of pressure points.